Thanks 2013

For three days, the sound of two hammers breaking up concrete have bounced off the concrete walls of our little courtyard, driving some of us living here to take to the streets to escape the noise. The hammering has begun at 9, two hours after the men arrived for work, takes a short break in the afternoon for comida, then continues until 6.  There is an electrical problem, causing the lights outside our apartments to come on and go off at odd times.  The electrical cable is buried under the concrete paving, and apparently the only way to fix the problem is to break up the paving.  No fancy tools are endanger of being used here.  The hammers have metal handles, the chisels are worn and bent.  Manuel and Tio(uncle, an honory title) Manuel have no gloves, no hearing protection.  No smoke breaks, no water breaks.  All the other chores want attention, too. 

Oaxaca graffiti.

Tio Manuel doesn't know how old he is; there was no birth certificate, but someone here guessed he's in his mid- 70's.  Joven (young) Manuel is probably in his early 50's.  They have been pounding concrete for three days.  They have a job, for which they might be thankful.

Gringo Thanksgiving is today.  This year, I'm thankful that I was born to parents who could read and write, to parents who lived in the US, and could make a good enough living to feed, cloth and house me. I could have been born in Syria or Ethiopia, North Korea or El Salvador, Somalia or Iraq, or any number of places where I might be hungry, uneducated and poorly clothed and housed.  I could have been born to parents who couldn't read or write, or in a society that treats women like slaves or throw-away property. I could be on a bicycle from 7am to 10pm, pedaling tamales for 8 pesos each, 7 days a week.

This year, I'm thankful for Tio Manuel and Manuel, and Josephina, who take such good care of us.  I'm thankful for a soft bed, my terrific spanish teacher, my previously-loved sewing machine, several changes of clothes, good shoes, and money enough to eat well and often.  All those things, and the usual luxuries, too, like great health and loving friends and family.  I'm also thankful for the coco nieve I had yesterday afternoon, after a very tasty meal of pozole!

Eat well!  Enjoy your comfy chair this afternoon!

Festival Origens, La Etnococina de Oaxaca

        While having lunch at Los Danzantes last week, our hostess told us about a festival planned for the weekend. Festival Origenes, La Etnococina de Oaxaca. All six of us at the table, after hearing about it, immediately bought tickets!  250 pesos, about $21US, bought our entry into an indigenous foods festival.  Seventeen of the indigenous groups in Oaxaca would be serving locally made dishes, and the price included fruit drinks (aguas), mescal, beer and music.  You bet I'll be there!

Sunday afternoon, dressed in my finest indigenous outfit (the only one I own), Stuart, Tom and Jo Ann and I met our friends Elly and Marc.  Being gringos, we arrived at the advertised hour, to find a huge tent set up in the plaza by Catedral (Iglesia?) Soledad, and it was empty of everyone but waiters and cooks.  Being directly in the sun would have made this a miserable afternoon, so we were cheered to see the tent.  Arriving on time also guaranteed us that we could have our pick of tables, as everyone else here works on Oaxacan time.  A little bit later!

The tables were beautifully set, with coordinating cloth napkins and runners, the plates set on silver chargers.  I confess, I did not expect this much elegance, and had packed a Real Fork and cloth napkin in my bag!  I'm embarrased to admit that.

Being early was great, it gave me lots of time to walk past the more then 100 pots of delicious looking food, to take pictures and ask questions.  The tables were arranged around the perimeter, and the cooks and hosts were dressed in their best trajes, village clothes.  I could identify some of the areas by the clothing, and a few others by the signs posted on the hugs pots of simmer food.























Elly grabbed an empanada before we were told we couldn't begin early, and she shared it with us.

Our waitress was all smiles, and cheerfully brought mescal (whets the appetite, you know!), beer and glasses of horchata (a delicious rice/cantelope drink).

A band set up, playing traditional music, and soon a group of young men from the coast took the stage to play stringed instruments. The percussionist played a clay jug!  The band came back, some announcements were made, much applause to the chefs of each village, and we were invited to eat.

Having looked at all pots earlier, I thought I had a plan, but it went out the window when I passed the first table!  It all looked and smelled so good!







The embroidery on the blouses worn by these women is not actually embroidery, but bead work.  They wear these blouses tucked into very full, long skirts.  I don't know the group, but the food was very good!










Albondigas de malanga:  meatballs.














Cazuella de pollo....a chicken stew.  These women were set up beside a wall of beautiful, locally famous green rocks.  They had the coolest spot, in the shade of the cool wall.

Two of the young coastal band, waiting patiently for either their turn to make music, or to eat!









                            




 These were from the coast, filled with corn kernals and bananas.  To a gringo palatte that might sound wierd, but it's delicious.























ohmy.  These women were NOT happy!  But, the embroidered blouses worn by women from Juchitan are simply the most gorgeous.  The Isthmus of Mexico. I saw them later, eating, and they still didn't look happy!



















"ok, so make sure everything is ready in the next few minutes."  Last minute conferences all around!














This may be my favorite photo of the day!  This tiny woman, from the mountains just north and west of the city was being photographed by a Very Tall Spanish man.  She could barely see over the top of the cazuela!  Look at her face... In the past, you would see many people from her village in the city center, but now, the old people are too old to get into town, and the young people don't wear the same clothes.  They are among the poorest people in the state.

sopa de calabazitas:  squash soup













These women are a tiny indigenous group, from the coast. One of the few black indigenous groups. They had a great time, I watched them all afternoon!
















I've never been to this region of the state, on the coast north of Puerto Escondido.

Tamales of fish;
Pilte de pescado: I don't know, but something with fish;  Barbarcoa de puerco:  barbequed pork (yuummm!); Huevo asado con hoja de hierba santa: baked eggs with a local herb that is a little anise tasting.

Mateo Yelto, San Juan Bautista, Valle Nacional: The name of the puebla.














Here is some of what I ate:
A black bean and dried fish dish;
















oh, this was delicious!  A yellow sauce with potatoes and a specific mushroom, from the mountains.  No, not that kind of mushroom!


















I love tamales, and I have two on my plate here.  With a blue corn tortilla.  The corn has probably been grown by the same family for many generations.














Mole has many different personalities.  This one was rich and creamy, with green beans and nopales.
















oh, pickled vegetables from the coast!  I had a short, funny conversation with the woman serving this.  She told me this dish is considered an aphrodisiac!  En escabeche:  pickled.















Baked fish, with tomatoes and onions.  When this was brought out, there was a rush for the few servings they had!  I didn't get any, but it smelled heavenly.


It was one of the Best Days of my life.  Truly a terrific experience. We waddled home, wishing we could have eaten more.  But, it wasn't just the food. The entire experience was almost too good.  Three locals joined us at our table, and one of the woman told us about the food from her village.  We had a special dish only served for weddings in her village:  corn meal, chicken and vegetables.We shared bites of everything, from everyone's plate, laughing and talking over the music, and drinking more mescal.    Delicious!  What a treat to have been here for this.

Making chile rellenos: a lesson with Fernanda

                    Elly's instructions were very precise:  "...walk up the gravel street that angles between the streets to your left and right.  Our red three-story house is beside the tin shack.  Look for the armless mannequin in the front yard.  Use something metal to bang on the gate; there is no doorbell."  The mannequin was the best landmark!

Elly and Marc, new friends here from the west coast of the US, had hired their friend/housekeeper, Fernanda, to teach them how to assemble and cook chile rellenos. Elly is an accomplished cook.  One day over lunch we all moaned that we had no clue how to make the darned things without the cheese oozing out and cooking outside the chile.  She hatched the plot to hire Fernanda, and I invited myself to watch.  Hence the directions and the mannequin photo.








Fernanda was delighful!  For me, it was a great spanish lesson, too, as of course she speaks no english.  The lesson was underway when I arrived, and I took up my position by the kitchen counter, with notebook and camera in hand.  Occasionally, she'd hand Jo Ann, Elly or me a knife or a bowl and give us instructions to chop or whip.  The guys stood back, and offered advice.

Some secrets:  the chiles get soaked in in a water/vinegar/sugar solution.  Epazote leaves line the chiles.  Don't whip more than 2 egg whites at a time.  And, the cheese is important! We used San Pablo Etla cheese, renowned for it's tart, salty taste and dry texture.  Delicious!  We used three different chiles, one of them dried.

Here, Fernanda is stuffing a chile poblano with a chunk of cheese.
















Elly jumped right in, skinning, seeding, deveining and stuffing.





















Fernanda cooked the picadillo.  She began with some cooked chicken and we chopped the rest of the ingredients as directed.















A block of the Etla cheese.  It must be dry!  This block of cheese has been allowed to drain overnight.












Chile pasillo, with queso and epazote leaves.





















Another secret!  Dust the chile rellenos with flour, then sit in the whipped egg mixture.  Pour more egg mixture over the chile.

































Fernanda cooked while we whipped egg whites by hand, filled chiles, dusted chiles with flour, and dunked chiles in egg whip.

















Three samples.


















We had a thanksgiving feast, with rice and vegetables, agua de melon, and good stories around the table.  If you'd like a copy of the recipe and the method, email me!

Hierve el Agua, Oaxaca

            We took a break from studying food to join the Hoofing It In Oaxaca group on a trip to Hierve el Agua.  I have described this gorgeous place about 1.5 hours from the city as the place of the Petrified Waterfall.  Of course, it's not petrified water, but it looks like it!  The water has a high mineral content, and the constantly flowing springs cause the minerals to accumulate and form pools on the top, and fantastic, colorful formations down the side of the mountains.  Across the valley, small patches of corn and maguey break the velvety smoothness of the forest.  I can just barely see a network of paths worn by burros and men who work the remote fields. 

Getting to Hierve el Aqua is a bit of an adventure because of its remote location and many visitors come here with a guide and driver they've hired in Oaxaca.  The roads close to the small village are not in good shape despite the toll on one section.  Getting here on your own is not so bad, but getting back is more difficult.  Collectivo drivers don't hang around here waiting for a group because the tourists hire a cab or guide in the city.  But, mostly, it's locals who drive up here to this quiet place to soak in the pools and enjoy the endless sky.   In the past, we've taken the bus to Mitla or Tlacolula and hired a cab from there with the arrangement that the driver will give us a couple of hours there.  Going with the HiiO group was fun, easy and reasonably priced.

Today was gorgeous, after a few days of cold and wet.  The usual Friday hiking group participants are all here, and the conversation is lively.

Stuart, Francine and I hiked part of the way around and down the mountain, just far enough to get a view of the pools and the top of the waterfall.  The photo here...




After a picnic lunch under a big tree, Francine and I took a dip in the mineral water, and enjoyed the sunshine and truly endless blue sky.


The man selling the ricas pinas locas caught my eye when we arrived.  The pineapples were not crazy, but local!

After returning to the city and a quick shower and we hurried to the Teatro Alcala for the last movie in the week-long cinema festival.  Tonight, a series of  old footage of the city, beginning in the early 1900's, with scenes of Rufino Tamayo painting a mural, the awful devastation of the earthquake in the early 1930's, the introduction of the railroad and more scenes from a younger city.  The film sections were accompanied by a band, on stage, and a singer with a perfectly eerie, beautiful voice.  The sound efffects man had us convinced what we heard was really coming from the screen.  The highlight for me, however, was the artist.  Alejandro Magadallenas, the artist featured in the current exhibit at the San Augustin Etla CaSa, drew the history of the city in between film sections.  Using an overhead projector and ink, he created images that the band enforced with emotion.  Later, Stuart told me he never realized that the drawing was done live!  From our seats in the first balcony, he couldn't see the artist on the floor of the theater. 

It was a perfect day at Hierve el Agua and the music/drawing/film at el Teatro Alcala.

Ramses, the Big Blonde Dog

Ramses is the Big Blonde Dog who greeted us the first time we arrived at Villa Maria's.  He died November 16, 2013.  Ramses ruled the courtyard, and the hearts of everyone who lived here.




Josephina, trying to convince Ramses to eat a little.   

Food is Art in Oaxaca

          A short post about food.  And, art.

Lunch at Gio, in it's new location.  Not as pretty as the previous place, with the gardens, but this one is funky, bright and airy.  Get there early:  he only has four tables.  This photo is Stuart's lunch: a curried fish pie, and delicious salad. The chocolate dessert was heavenly, but no photo.  Next time.  I had hand-made pasta, with beef in red wine.  The pasta was beautiful.  A Very Good Chef, with a beautiful smile.  Gio.











The next day.  Lunch at Los Danzantes.  Pescado tempura.  Agua de mandarinda, y poco de mescal.  Fish tempurar, I think the batter is the same as the one for chile rellenos.  A drink made from tangerines and water, and a little mescal to whet the appeitite.  Provecho!







ah.  The dessert made me forget all manners I've ever had.  I did not lick the slate plate, but I did lick my fingers!  That caramel was perfectly done:  not too sweet.  Mexican crema is the secret, I think.  The apple tart was perfect.  The pastry was very "short", and buttery.











After lunch at Gio, Francine and I walked for a while, and went into a gallery she knew and admired, and had bought a pretty mescal cup a few weeks ago.  I recognized the work immediately.  Vicente Hernandez is a National Treasure potter.  Last spring, at the exhibit at the Governors Palace Museum ( a great museum, upstairs), Sr. Hernandez was demonstrating in the room beside an exhibit of his remarkable work. His daughter runs the store, and invited Francine and me for a private tour of his workshop. A rare invitation, he's very private about his space.  We'll go in the next couple of weeks.  What a treat! oh, I bought these pretty mescal cups!  Aren't they great?  Francine and I met a friend on the street close to Sto. Domingo, and we stood talking, rooted in that pretty ambiance for an hour!  We laughed later, saying we could have moved 20 steps into a restaurant for a mescal.

A couple of photos from our last visit to San Augustin Etla...the pool just off the main gallery was filled with wire figures. I love this one, which I call, "Reflecting".

And, a photo of the sink in the ladies room...such a clever, efficient design! 

Next post:  a lesson on making chile rellenos.